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Driver Inattention Major Factor in Most Traffic Crashes

David J. Hanson, Ph.D.

Nearly 80% of traffic crashes involved driver inattention in a
major study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institution (VTTI).

The 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study tracked the behavior of
the drivers of 100 vehicles equipped with video and sensor devices
for over a year. During the research period the vehicles were driven
nearly 2,000,000 miles with 42,300 hours of data.

“The most common distraction for drivers is the use of cell
phones,” reports the study. Crashes attributable to talking
is about equal to those attributable to dialing. In addition, drowsiness
is a significant problem that increases a drivers risk of a crash
by a factor of at least four. However, it appears that drowsy driving
is significantly under-reported in police crash investigations and
reports.